Drilling wood with impact driver

[the_matrix_guy]

Hey, do any of you drill with an impact driver? I have a Makita 18V impact driver, it’s my workhorse. And I had an older DeWalt wireless drill and it died on me a couple of years ago and I never got around to replacing. I haven’t really done any work where i have to drill holes lately i just drive the hex screw right in without making a pre drilled hole. But now I have a slightly different project involving 2”x2” cedar wood beams.

My question: I noticed that it is increasingly acceptable to drill into wood with an impact driver. I saw the “drill bits” for impact drivers while shopping for a new drill and it made me want to look into it a bit more (no pun intended.)

Should I give them a try. The only other con i can think of is having to switch between hex driver and bits more often.

[cheapguitarscheapthrills]

I got a new DeWalt drill with battery, charger, and bag for like $99 and I'm really happy with it. I know that's kind of counter to your question but it's not super expensive to get a new one. They're lighter and fit in smaller spaces than they used to. Worth the investment

[Jordan]

Is it increasingly acceptable, or are poor work practices just becoming more visible online?

Impact drivers are a terrible way to drill a hole, but no one's going to stop you from doing it. If that's what you want to. Make sure you wear appropriately spec'ed safety wear when you do.

[SignOfZeta]

What he said.

Contractors want to do everything with the same tool. An impact driver will produce McMansions but won’t drill nice holes. It’s a club. It’s not for craftsmen, artists, etc but we all absolutely do it once in a while. They even sell drill bits with a hex base now.

[cellophane]

As others have said- for rough framing it will be fine. For changing bits, I would look into a Quick Chuck (Speed Chuck?). They are great. You might lose a little precision with it, but again, for rough work it is fine.

[Drcemento]

If you have to plow a larger hole through some thick framing and don't care what it looks like, a spade bit on an impact driver is impressively fast. If you need to drill a 1/8" pilot hole for a screw... sure you can....but its a mess and you need an impact ready bit. unless I'm driving a 3" or larger screws in framing I've actually come to appreciate a clutched drill again. I have 4 Milwaukee M12 drills in the shop and at home now - incredibly smooth, light and small with a great clutch and plenty of power, and cheep enough that I have one for driving the screw and another for pre drilling, rather than waste time changing bits.

[the_matrix_guy]

I just got an open box Makita 18V drill for $65 on ebay. I wasnt expecting the seller to accept my offer, he had it listed for $80. So this thread became a bit moot...

...But either way, I looked into it a little on YT, SignOfZeta it seems that you CAN drill clean holes with an impact driver, not sure where this notion comes from. The only reason it's not suitable is when you drill into metal, you're putting more stress on the drill and on your arm. But you can do it. I'm guessing that maybe people think that it doesnt drill precise holes because some use a hammer function? ... which should definitely not be used for pre-drilled holes in wood, obviously.

But either way, as Drcemento pointed out, it's just way more efficient to have more tools for increased efficiency.

I will look into the Miwuakee M12 bits, BTW.


I also need to replace my Dremel. I had mine for 15+ years and it died on me a couple of years ago as well.

[SignOfZeta]

Wood and plastic drill easy. I mostly drill metal so for me the idea is less appealing. Unless you’re drilling concrete you probably never want impacting so I’ll go for the larger, easier to hold drill with a normal chuck instead of a tool that is predicated on a function I don’t want to actually use. I don’t want that impacting kicking in and grenading a $40 piece of maple or, in the case of drilling metal, snapping drills. With an actual hand drill you can turn the impacting off and use a larger selection of drills.

Years ago for like $180 I got the deal at the Homeless Despot where you got both drill and drill driver with batteries and charger. I put together a huge prefab tree house with it and now use them for all sorts of stuff around the house. Even though they are the “low end” they do fine for me.

[the_matrix_guy]

Wood and plastic drill easy. I mostly drill metal so for me the idea is less appealing. Unless you’re drilling concrete you probably never want impacting so I’ll go for the larger, easier to hold drill with a normal chuck instead of a tool that is predicated on a function I don’t want to actually use. I don’t want that impacting kicking in and grenading a $40 piece of maple or, in the case of drilling metal, snapping drills. With an actual hand drill you can turn the impacting off and use a larger selection of drills.

Years ago for like $180 I got the deal at the Homeless Despot where you got both drill and drill driver with batteries and charger. I put together a huge prefab tree house with it and now use them for all sorts of stuff around the house. Even though they are the “low end” they do fine for me.

The impact driver is the same size, (not talking about the big SDS or SDS+ drills) the only difference is the rotary function in the drill, which is more suitable for drilling rather than torquing. But again, as we concluded, it only really matters if you're drilling metal. For wood, you can drill fine with an impact driver (without the impact function)

But yeah, thats an amazing deal. Actually when you mentioned it, I looked it up, HomeDepot has the Milwaukee kit for $150 right now, and the Makita for $190: the kits come with both the drill the driver, two 18V batteries, the charger and a kit bag. Thats a really good deal, if I needed both, I would definitely go for that.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18V-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Drill-Driver-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-2-Tool-W-Two-1-5Ah-Batteries-Charger-Tool-Bag-2691-22/100650378

[SignOfZeta]

The drill is longer and easier to hold straight. This isn’t as important when drilling straight through but it matters a lot for drilling blind holes deep into something or really even just going through 2x4s.

The other main difference is the transmission. The drill is designed to deliver steady torque amplification through its gear drive whereas the impact delivers more torque but in spikes.

If you drilled ALL DAY you’d want both. If you’re hanging picture frames they are both overkill.

[BLachance75]

Have I use an impact to drill a hole, yes. I've also use the battery on my impact to lightly "tap" things into place. Neither is the correct tool for the job but sometimes you have to use what you have.

I'm no professional tradesman, more like a hackjob homeowner but if I'm doing anything that I want to be even somewhat nice I will use the correct tool. I'd get a drill if I were you.

[the_matrix_guy]

as others have said- for rough framing it will be fine. For changing bits, i would look into a quick chuck (speed chuck?). They are great. You might lose a little precision with it, but again, for rough work it is fine.

life changer

[flyweightnate]

I do a LOT around the house, and very little under the car. With that said, I think I've built a good toolbox.

Dewalt 12v Electric Screwdriver. It's a drill with a hex collet. Small, light, ran a 5/8" auger no problem in softwood.
dewalt 12v brushless impact. 90% of the screws I drive, perfect. Small and light.
dewalt 20v drill. If the screwdriver can't do it, I pull this one out, all good.
Bosch SDS Plus rotary hammer (old enough they don't have parts anymore). Monster in concrete. I had no idea until I sank a ground rod through my garage slab in like a minute.

It's amazing what the 12v Brushless will do now.

[the_matrix_guy]

I do a LOT around the house, and very little under the car. With that said, I think I've built a good toolbox.

Dewalt 12v Electric Screwdriver. It's a drill with a hex collet. Small, light, ran a 5/8" auger no problem in softwood.
dewalt 12v brushless impact. 90% of the screws I drive, perfect. Small and light.
dewalt 20v drill. If the screwdriver can't do it, I pull this one out, all good.
Bosch SDS Plus rotary hammer (old enough they don't have parts anymore). Monster in concrete. I had no idea until I sank a ground rod through my garage slab in like a minute.

It's amazing what the 12v Brushless will do now.

nice. I have the Bosch Bulldog SDS Plus too. It's a monster, for sure.